Reasons to Look at the Night Sky

Name: Reasons to Look at the Night Sky
Brand: Penguin Random House
Availability: InStock
Author: Danielle Daniel
ISBN: 9781774887882

Author: Danielle Daniel

Narrator: Tara Sky, Jani Lauzon

Unabridged: 2 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tundra Books

Published: 10/29/2024

Categories: Children's Fiction, Astronauts, Children's Social Themes

Synopsis

A sensitive middle grade novel in verse about a space-obsessed girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut — and begins to see the world differently when a substitute teacher enters her orbit.

Luna has always loved the night sky. She's an eleven-year-old who knows everything there is to know about space, and dreams of one day becoming an astronaut. The first step in her plan to get there is to ace the space unit in her science class and secure a spot in NASA's summer space camp.

But when Luna's teacher is unexpectedly replaced with a substitute, Ms. Manitowabi, who is looking to shake up science class by bringing in art, Luna's carefully laid plans are crushed. And that's not all that's shifting in Luna's life — changes at home and in her friendships have her feeling topsy-turvy. What on Planet Earth is happening?

Reasons to Look at the Night Sky is an endearing, poetic look at the inner world of a middle schooler grappling with change from acclaimed author and illustrator Danielle Daniel.

About The Author

DANIELLE DANIEL is an acclaimed author and illustrator whose journey in artmaking and book publishing has gone hand in hand with all she has learned — and continues to learn — about her Indigenous ancestry and her relationship with the land. Some of her picture books include I’m Afraid Said the Leaf, Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox (winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and selected as one of the New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing), Sometimes I Feel Like a River and Once in a Blue Moon. Her debut middle-grade novel, Forever Birchwood, was published in 2022, as well as her first adult novel, Daughters of the Deer. Reasons to Look at the Night Sky was inspired by her years as an elementary school teacher and her great love of space. She lives on Manitoulin Island among a large family of cedars, a husk of hares and a fifty-year-old Blanding’s turtle, who visits quite regularly.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Emily on April 21, 2025

3.5+ ? (Goodreads, I need a more detailed rating system) First, this cover is GORGEOUS. Straight up the reason I picked the book up. I was then delighted to find that this is a novel in verse. 11-year old Luna's dream is to attend NASA's summer space camp; that's just one step in her quest to become a......more

Goodreads review by Caylie on November 01, 2024

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 4/5 stars. This is such a good, short, lower middle grade verse novel. It combines Luna's love for space with the fearfulness that comes from change....a lot of change. Being 11 is already rough, so all of the changes impact Luna and......more

Goodreads review by Pat on December 13, 2024

Readers will be launched into Luna’s story through the magnificent swirls of purple and blue that grace the cover and will soar through an emotional exploration alongside the narrator. More than anything, eleven-year-old Luna wants to be an astronaut. She’s an all-facts, all science kind of girl. In......more

Goodreads review by Rebecca on November 23, 2024

Novel in verse. Eleven-year-old Luna exhibits some characteristics associated with being on the spectrum: she's obsessed with space to the exclusion of all else and loathes/doesn't deal well with change. Her goal is to become a NASA astronaut, and she's been looking forward to the 6th grade space un......more

Goodreads review by Anita on September 06, 2024

"My parents say I am part sonnet part stars." This is the first line from the warm middle-grade verse novel Reasons to Look at the Night Sky by author & illustrator Danielle Daniel, who readers will know from her other works, including Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox. In this verse novel, the main character......more

Quotes

Shortlisted for the 2025 Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Awards

"Luna’s love of space and fear of change may endear her to similarly minded kids. . . . A solid story about dealing with discomfort and change." —Kirkus Reviews

"This quick read has many STEAM applications and will easily appeal to aspiring astronauts while also potentially sparking interest in more-complex verse and narratives." —Booklist

"This book will resonate with readers who are navigating the trials of adolescence and the difficulty of embracing the unknown, as well as those interested in space and mythology." —School Library Journal

Awards

Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Awards (MYRCA) - Sundogs Award